Modular kitchen storage tower

ABSTRACT

The modular kitchen storage tower is a device for the temporary storage of prepared foods while awaiting service to the diner. The tower has a column or post that supports a plurality of rotating platforms on which plates, bowls, pots, serving trays and the like can be placed. The platforms have a rotational mechanism similar to a Lazy Susan mechanism, e.g., a pair of disks with ball bearings disposed between the disks, mounted on their bottom surface. The post may have a plurality of annular notches defined therein spaced apart throughout its length. A lock pin may extend radially through a disk of the rotational mechanism to engage a notch in the post to releasably secure each platform to the post, thereby permitting height adjustment and disassembly for cleaning. A bracket may be attached to the lower end of the post for attaching the tower to a wall.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to kitchen facilities, and particularly toa modular kitchen storage tower for temporary storage of plates, trays,and the like, which can be used in any kitchen, but it particularlyuseful for restaurants, hotel kitchens, and other high volume commercialestablishments.

2. Description of the Related Art

Space is a valuable and often scarce commodity in the food preparationarea of restaurants, hotel kitchens, and other commercialestablishments. Such businesses are often high volume, requiring thesimultaneous preparation of several meals. Typically the food isprepared by cooks and served to the diner by a staff of waiters andwaitresses, by room service personnel, or other serving staff.

Depending upon the size of the establishment, there is typically somedelay between completion of the food preparation and pickup by theserving staff. In most establishments, when the cooking staff completespreparation of a particular order, the plate, bowl, pot, tray, or otherserving plate is placed on a counter to wait for pickup by the servingstaff. The counter may be in the kitchen itself, or in a window or othertransition area between the kitchen and the serving area.

Alternatively, the food preparation staff may place completed orders oncarts. While such carts have the advantage of being portable, the cartsdo occupy additional space in what may already be a crowded foodpreparation area.

Although such conventional facilities have proved serviceable, they dorequire considerable space and do not provide for the most economicaluse of existing space. Because of space limitations, sometimes thecounter will be mounted in an elevated location, at shoulder height orabove, making it difficult for the serving staff to locate a particularorder. Moreover, the serving staff may require considerable time tosearch the counter to locate a particular order. During peak hours,there may be so many orders being served at the same time, and such adelay in serving the orders, that the counter becomes filled, requiringone order to be stacked on top of another order, or some other expedientto accommodate the rush.

Some of the same problems may be experienced in residential kitchenareas, although usually not such a pressing problem or frequentoccurrence. Nevertheless, many residential kitchens are small, and whena dinner party or holiday celebration occurs, the host is oftenhard-pressed to find sufficient counter space in the kitchen to placethe various dishes and dinner servings before taking them to the diningarea.

Consequently, there is a need for a device for the temporary storage ofprepared food that saves space in the kitchen area and that isconvenient for both the food preparation staff and the serving staff touse. Thus, a modular kitchen storage tower solving the aforementionedproblems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The modular kitchen storage tower is a device for the temporary storageof prepared foods while awaiting service to the diner. The tower has acolumn or post that supports a plurality of rotating platforms on whichplates, bowls, pots, serving trays and the like can be placed. Theplatforms have a rotational mechanism, e.g., a pair of disks with abearing assembly disposed between the disks, mounted on their bottomsurface. The post may have a plurality of annular notches definedtherein spaced apart throughout its length. A lock pin may extendradially through a disk of the rotational mechanism to engage a notch inthe post to releasably secure each platform to the post, therebypermitting height adjustment and disassembly for cleaning. A bracket maybe attached to the lower end of the post for attaching the tower to awall, cabinet, or other vertical support.

These and other features of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a modular kitchenstorage tower according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the modular kitchen storage tower accordingto the present invention, shown with a bracket for mounting the tower toa vertical support.

FIG. 3 is an environmental vertical section view of the modular kitchenstorage tower according to the present invention, shown with a bracketfor mounting the tower to a vertical support, the rotational mechanismof one tier partially broken away to show details of the mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the modular kitchen storage tower according tothe present invention, shown with a bracket for mounting the tower to avertical support.

FIG. 5 is a partial side view in section of the modular kitchen storagetower according to the present invention, showing details of a singletier.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the modular kitchen storage tower according tothe present invention, shown with a bracket for mounting the tower to avertical support.

FIG. 7 is a partial elevational view showing a single tier of themodular kitchen storage tower according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of an alternative embodiment of a modularkitchen storage tower according to the present invention, partially insection, showing the tower mounted on casters.

FIG. 9 is a partial environmental elevation view, partially in section,showing an anchor bracket for mounting a modular kitchen storage towerof the present invention to a wall or other vertical support.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1-9, the present invention is a modular kitchenstorage tower 105 for the temporary storage of prepared food whileawaiting service to a diner. The tower 105 has a column or post 110 uponwhich multiple tiers of rotatable platforms 120 are releasably mounted.Dishes, bowls, pots, serving trays, or other serving dishes or utensilsmay be placed on the platforms 120 while awaiting pickup or service tothe diner. A cooling device 121 and a heating device 122 are disposed onan bottom surface of at least one of the rotatable platforms 120 andabove an adjacent second platform 120 for keeping cold items on a firstregion of the adjacent platform 120 cold and hot items on a secondregion of the adjacent platform 120 hot.

As shown in FIG. 4, the post 120 has a plurality of annular notches 125defined therein that are spaced apart throughout the length of the post110. The notches 125 may be spaced equidistantly, or may be staggered atunequal intervals. A base 118 is disposed at the lower end of the post110. The base 118 is shown in FIG. 1 as a frustoconical collar or flangeattached to, or adapted for attachment to, a bracket 119 for attachingthe tower 105 to a vertical support, as described further below

Alternatively, the base 118 may be a cylindrical flange attached to aflat plate adapted for freestanding placement on, or attachment to, ahorizontal support, e.g., the floor of the room, bottom wall of acabinet, window ledge, sill, or, as shown in FIG. 8, for attachment to amobile support 805 at a base receiving aperture 802. It should be notedthat disposed on bottom of mobile support 805 are a plurality of wheels,rollers, and the like, such as casters 810. Additionally, as shown inFIG. 9, the base I1 8 may be fitted in a wall bracket receiving aperture902 of a bracket, such as wall bracket 905. Wall bracket 905 has aslotted wall attachment flange 907 that can be removably hooked ontofixed wall anchoring hardware 910. Wall attachment hardware 910 can bepermanently attached to a recess in wall W to provide a plumb fit of thebracket 905, and has a pin that can be engaged by slotted flange 907 toprovide wall support of the storage tower 105. Alternatively, a metalplate (not shown) may be embedded into the wall W to provide anattachment surface for a support bracket and release lever, the brackethaving permanent magnetic properties.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, each platform 120 is round or circular,having a central bore defined therein having an inner diameter slightlylarger than the exterior diameter of the post 110 so that the platforms120 are slidable on the post 110. As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, eachplatform 120 has a rotational mechanism mounted on its bottom surface.The rotational mechanism may be, e.g., an upper disk 115 and lower disk132 having grooves 133 b and 133 a, respectively, defined therein, witha bearing assembly 131 disposed in the grooves 133 a and 133 b so thatupper disk 115 rotates over lower disk 132. The bearing assembly 131 maycomprise upper and lower bearing races with ball bearings disposedtherebetween, or a ball thrust bearing, such as those used in lazySusans and turntables. Alternatively, the rotational mechanism maycomprise mating frictionless disk bearings, or any other rotationalmechanism providing for rotation of a disk about a post. Disks 115 and132 have concentric bores 136 defined therein aligned with the boredefined in platform 120 so that the rotational mechanism is slidable onpost 110.

Lower disk 132 is releasably secured to the post 110 by lock pin 130,which extends through a radial bore 135 defined in lower disk 132 toengage one of the notches 125 defined in post 110. Lock pin 130 may havea handle 134 that can be rotated over an angular interval, e.g., 90°, tomove between a locked position in which pin 130 engages notch 125 toprevent axial sliding of platform 120 on post 110, and an unlockedposition in which platform 120 is slidable on post 110. Lock pin 130 maybe a setscrew externally threaded throughout the length of the shaft toengage internally threaded bore 135. Alternatively, lock pin 130 mayhave a spring-biased extendable shaft for engaging notches 125.Releasable engagement of lock pins 130 with notches 125 permits heightadjustment or spacing between the platforms 120 at the discreteintervals provided by notches 125 (bowls and pots may require greaterspacing between tiers than plates), selective removal of platforms 120to adjust the number of tiers, and removal of all platforms 120 forhygienic cleaning or transport of the tower 105.

Referring to FIG. 3, the tower 105 may have a mounting bracket 119 formounting on a wall, cabinet, or other vertical support. The bracket 119has a wall plate 140 that can be removably attached to the verticalsupport by appropriate fasteners, such as threaded handwheels 137.Threaded shaft of handwheel 137 extends from a knob in such a mannerthat the handwheel 137 can be flush to the wall plate 140 when the tower105 is attached to the vertical support using the handwheels 137. Theuse of handwheels 137 provides for quick and convenient attachment to,and removal from, the vertical support for easy set up and breakdown ofthe tower 105 in a plurality of locations. As noted above, alternativelythe base 118 may include a mounting plate for attachment to a horizontalsupport surface, such as the floor. The tower 105 may be mounted in anyconvenient location. In a commercial establishment, a preferred locationmay be a transition area between the food preparation area and thedining area, such as in a window in a partition wall, so that the foodpreparation staff may place the plates or other serving dishes on one ofthe platforms 120 and rotate the platform 120 so that the plate isvisible to the dining area.

It will be seen that the modular kitchen tower 105 provides for a moreeconomical use of available space than extended horizontal counters, andprovides the serving staff with the convenience of rotatable platforms120 for quicker location of orders. In addition, releasable attachmentof the platforms 120 provides for height adjustment to accommodateserving dishes of various heights, as well as convenient hygieniccleaning of the platforms 120.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A modular kitchen storage tower, comprising: a post having aplurality of notches defined therein spaced apart at discrete intervals;and a plurality of circular platforms, each of the platforms having acentral bore defined therein and a bottom surface, the platforms beingslidable on the post, each of the platforms having: an upper disk and alower disk, the upper disk being rotatable on the lower disk, the upperdisk being attached to the bottom surface of the platform, the upper andlower disks having concentric bores defined therein aligned with thecentral bore in the platform, the post being slidable through thealigned bores, the lower disk having a radial bore defined therethrough;and a lock pin extendable through the radial bore and selectivelyengaging one of the notches, whereby the platforms are releasablyattached to the post at selectable discretely spaced intervals androtatable around the post, the platforms being adapted for supportingserving dishes placed thereon.
 2. The modular kitchen storage toweraccording to claim 1, wherein said upper and lower disks have annulargrooves defined therein, the tower further comprising a bearing assemblydisposed in the grooves.
 3. The modular kitchen storage tower accordingto claim 1, wherein the radial bore is internally threaded, said lockpin comprising a setscrew.
 4. The modular kitchen storage toweraccording to claim 1, wherein said post has a lower end having a baseattached thereto, the tower further comprising a mounting bracketattached to the base, the mounting bracket having a wall plate adaptedfor attachment to a vertical support.
 5. A modular kitchen storagetower, comprising: a post; a plurality of circular platforms adapted forsupporting serving dishes placed thereon; means for releasably attachingthe platforms to the post at discrete, spaced intervals in order toadjust spacing of the platforms on the post; and means for rotating theplatforms around the post.
 6. The modular kitchen storage toweraccording to claim 5, wherein said post has a plurality of notchesdefined therein at discrete spaced intervals, said releasably attachingmeans comprising: a disk attached to a lower surface of each of theplatforms; and a lock pin selectively extendable from the disk, the lockpin engaging one of the notches when extended from the disk.
 7. Themodular kitchen storage tower according to claim 6, wherein said lockpin comprises a setscrew.
 8. The modular kitchen storage tower accordingto claim 5, wherein said means for rotating comprises a rotationalmechanism attached to each of said platforms, each rotational mechanismcomprising an upper disk and a lower disk, the upper disk being attachedto a bottom surface of said platform, the upper disk and the lower diskbeing coaxially mounted on said post, each of the disks having anannular groove defined therein; and a bearing assembly disposed in thegrooves between the upper and lower disks.
 9. The modular kitchenstorage tower according to claim 8, wherein said bearing assemblycomprises a plurality of ball bearings.
 10. The modular kitchen storagetower according to claim 5, further comprising means for mounting saidpost to a vertical support.
 11. The modular kitchen storage toweraccording to claim 5, wherein said post has a lower end having a baseattached thereto, the tower further comprising a mounting bracketattached to the base, the mounting bracket having a wall plate adaptedfor attachment to a vertical support.
 12. A modular kitchen storagetower, comprising: a post; a plurality of circular platforms rotatablymounted on the post, forming a plurality of rotating tiers, theplatforms being adapted for supporting serving dishes placed thereon;and means for adjusting spacing between the platforms in discreteincrements.
 13. The modular kitchen storage tower according to claim 12,wherein said post has a plurality of notches defined therein spacedapart at discrete intervals.
 14. The modular kitchen storage toweraccording to claim 13, wherein said means for adjusting spacingcomprises: disks attached to the bottom surface of each of saidplatforms, respectively, each of the disks having a radially extendingbore defined therein; and lock pins disposed in each of the radiallyextending bores, respectively, the lock pins selectively extending fromthe bores and engaging one of the notches to selectively attach saidplatforms to the post at a user-selectable spacing.
 15. The modularkitchen storage tower according to claim 14, wherein said lock pinscomprise setscrews.
 16. The modular kitchen storage tower according toclaim 14, wherein each of said lock pins comprises a handle extendingfrom the bore for grasping by a user.
 17. The modular kitchen storagetower according to claim 12, wherein each of said platforms furthercomprises: an upper disk and a lower disk, the upper disk being attachedto a bottom surface of said platform, the upper disk and the lower diskbeing coaxially mounted on said post, each of the disks having anannular groove defined therein; and a bearing assembly disposed in thegrooves between the upper and lower disks.
 18. The modular kitchenstorage tower according to claim 1 7, wherein said bearing assemblycomprises a plurality of ball bearings.
 19. The modular kitchen storagetower according to claim 12, wherein said post has a lower end having abase attached thereto, the tower further comprising a mounting bracketattached to the base, the mounting bracket having a wall plate adaptedfor attachment to a vertical support.
 20. The modular kitchen storagetower according to claim 12, wherein at least one of said platformsfurther comprises: a cooling device and a heating device disposed on anunderside of the at least one of said platforms for keeping cold itemson a first region of an adjacent platform cold, and hot items on asecond region of the adjacent platform hot.